OpenADR Certification Process

Need information on the general requirements and cost of building a certified product? Click Here

Find Test Facilities - click here

How to submit a product? - click here

OpenADR2.0 follows the notion of Virtual Top Nodes (VTN) and Virtual End Nodes (VEN). For the purpose of device development, the OpenADR Alliance always tests the interface between a VTN and a VEN whereas either node can be the device under test (DUT). Intelligence build into the systems not related to the OpenADR 2.0 message exchange is not part of the OpenADR Alliance testing program.

OpenADR Alliance's newest initiative is the EcoPort Certification Program. The EcoPort certification follows the same process as the OpenADR program. The types of products are the Smart Grid Device (SGD - often an appliance) and the Universal Communication Module (UCM). There are several certification levels. For more information please visit the EcoPort page.

Purpose and goal of the OpenADR & EcoPort Certification:
It shall be noted that the ultimate purpose of the certification program is to verify that a VTN or VEN implementation (or EcoPort product) is fully functional and conforms to all mandatory requirements of the specification. The certification testing is to be seen as a snapshot of all required functions and is generally accepted as a means to demonstrate compliance with the standard. The execution of the certification testing should however not be seen as the final and only goal of the certification. Passing the testing solely for the sake of achieving a pass report shall not be the purpose of the software development. It is in the discretion of the test engineer and the certifier to pass final judgment on the compliance of a product.
With the former in mind, the VTN or VEN under test does not have to show a full user interface like a graphical user interface or similar as it may be integrated into a larger software system. It may also require some manual intervention to trigger certain states, setting a URL or ID. However, the majority of the testing is expected to run autonomously after initial configuration as is the case with any machine to machine protocol. Certain test cases will require a prompt as outlined in Appendix A of the OpenADR 2.0b Test Specification.

Product Types for OpenADR Certification

The Virtual Top Node (VTN) is an information exchange server. This server can be located at the highest infrastructure level (e.g. Utility Company), at an aggregator level, or at the managed facility. Each VTN can have 1-N VENs. Commonly VTNs are part of a resource management system like a DERMS.

The Virtual End Nodes (VEN) are clients to one or more VTN and can be located one level below any of the suitable VTN locations. VENs can be simple devices like load controllers, thermostats or more powerful implementations like energy management systems or aggregator level control servers.

Download the Certification Policy here.

Download the EcoPort Certification Policy here.

How do you submit your certification request? (Watch our videos about the certification options here)

Notes:
Only members can request certification
Please review the three submission types below
Important: EcoPort products like water heaters need to supply all model names that need to be submitted to regulatory agencies

a) Submission of a newly tested OpenADR or EcoPort product requires -

- Signed Declaration of Conformity (OpenADR template, EcoPort template)
- Signed PICS Document (OpenADR template, EcoPort template)
- Test Report from qualified test house
- Short marketing description of the product
- Web link to product or company
- Company logo (optional but recommended)
- Product image, screenshot, or similar marketing picture (optional)

For sample listings check out https://products.openadr.org/.

Send documentation to [email protected].
Please make sure any text can be copied and pasted (for instance no scanned pages or locked PDFs)
OpenADR products can also be submitted with this form - Submission Form

b) Submission of an additional model or updated OpenADR or EcoPort product without changes to the certified software (certification by similarity) requires -

- Signed Declaration of Conformity (OpenADR template, EcoPort template)
- Signed PICS Document (OpenADR template, EcoPort template)
- Signed confirmation letter on company letterhead that states that the new model/version is identical to the previously tested product
- Short marketing description of the product
- Web link to product or company
- Company logo (optional but recommended)
- Product image, screenshot, or similar marketing picture (optional)

For sample listings check out https://products.openadr.org/.

Send documentation to [email protected].
Please make sure any text can be copied and pasted (for instance no scanned pages or locked PDFs)
OpenADR products can also be submitted with this form - Submission Form

c) Submission of an OEM product without changes to the certified software (Company A provides white labeled product to company B) requires -

- Signed Declaration of Conformity (OpenADR template, EcoPort template)
- Signed PICS Document (OpenADR template, EcoPort template)
- Signed confirmation letter on company letterhead from company A that states that the OEM version is identical to the previously tested product
- Signed confirmation letter on company letterhead from company B that states that the company A product is used unchanged
- Short marketing description of the product
- Web link to product or company
- Company logo (optional but recommended)
- Product image, screenshot, or similar marketing picture (optional)

For sample listings check out https://products.openadr.org/.

Send documentation to [email protected].
Please make sure any text can be copied and pasted (for instance no scanned pages or locked PDFs)
OpenADR products can also be submitted with this form - Submission Form

Test Facilities

The OpenADR Alliance has partnered with several international test houses to provide testing services to members of the Alliance. Look for the EcoPort tag to see if the test facility is capable of this certification.